Train from Bangkok to Vientiane LaosTimes and Fares

If you want to travel by train from Bangkok to Vientiane in Laos, you can now almost reach the Laos capital, as there is a small stretch of railway line that crosses over the Friendship Bridge, crossing the Mekong River and the Thai - Laos border at the same time.

The first thing you have to do is catch a train from Bangkok to Nong Khai.

From Nong Khai you then have to catch the train over the Friendship Bridge into Laos.

The
train station, just 4 kilometres over the Laos border where the train
terminates is called Thanaleng Railway Station (also called Dongphosy
Railway Station as it is located in Dongphosy village).

From here you can catch a minibus to the Vientiane city centre, located 20 kilometres away, for around 50 Baht per person.

This track was originally planned to be extended all the way to Vientiane, but now plans have changed and there is a new plan. Now Bangkok will eventually be connected to Vientiane by the high-speed train project, using a different train line and a new bridge over the Mekong.

This will not be completed for a number of years, so for now if you want to travel from Thailand to Laos by train, this is the only way that it is possible and Thanaleng station will remain the only train station in Laos for a few more years

Trains from Bangkok to Nong Khai (2018)

Train Number

Departs

Arrives

Type

75

08:20

17:45

Express DRC

77

18:35

04:15

Express DRC

25

20:00

06:45

Special Express

133

20:45

08:35

Rapid

To view the full timetables and see pictures of the seats / berths available on each train, click on the train numbers below :

The best train to catch if you want to connect to the Laos train, is the overnight sleeper train number 25 which arrives in Nong Khai at 06:45, so you can connect to the departure to Thanaleng at 07:30.

All trains to / from Bangkok originate or terminate at the main station, Hua Lamphong railway station.

Trains from Laos to Thailand (Thanaleng to Nong Khai)

The train is made up of just two carriages designed to carry 80 passengers each.

However, the only time I have travelled on this train there was standing room only and rather more than 80 people per carriage.

If
you are travelling during the peak season (December - March), this can
cause a bit of bottleneck at the immigration counters with hundreds of
tourists queuing up for their visa's.

If the train you come in
from from Bangkok is full of tourists, you may want to do what I usually
do, skip the train ride over the bridge and just take a 10 - 15 minutes walk
to the Thai border control and catch a bus over the bridge (20 Baht).

Nong Khai railway station

I find this better than getting off the night train from Bangkok, then standing in queue to buy your train tickets to Thanaleng, then standing in another queue to go through the Thai immigration (at Nong Khai station) and then being packed into the Nong Khai to Thanaleng train for 15 minutes and finally another long queue to get your visa paperwork and then again to finally get your Laos visa.

This is basically the last thing I want to do after being on the train all night!

I would rather go and get some breakfast, wait for any crowds to die down, then cross by bus over the border.

Train times on this page are published for information only and may change.